Garment



May 22, 1934. w. D. CRAIG 1,960,218

GARMENT Filed March 19, 1954 2 SheetsSheet l IN V EN TOR.

Mgziam D. amig.

A ORNEYS.

W. D. CRAIG May 22, 1934.

GARMENT Filed March 19, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 LEFT LEG, (FRONT) l'ig. 5.

RIGHT LEG (FRONT) IN V EN TOR. William D. Cra

atented May 22, 1934 uN-'TED STATES PATENT OFFICE GARMENT William D. Craig, Meadville, Pa., assignor to HooklessFastener Company, a' corporation of Pennsylvania This invention relates to garments and particularly to a novel construction of the fly opening of trousers and arrangement of a slide fastener therein.

l It has previously been proposed to apply slide fasteners to the y openings of trousers, simply by sewing -the two tapes' of the fastener to the opposite faces of the fly opening. However none of the proposed arrangements which have come l to my attention have been completely satisfactory because the fastener has been unreliable in operation due to no fault of its own construction,

but to the way in which it was applied, because the fly constructions employed have been bulky and awkward in appearance, and because the fastener, in these constructions, has not been completely concealed, and because the constructions were expensive to manufacture.

It is among the objects of my invention to provide an improved trouser construction and arrangement of fastener therein which will eliminate the above mentioned disadvantages and be reliable in operation, neat in appearance, completely conceal the slide fastener, and be economical to manufacture in quantity.

Specifically it is also one of the objects of my invention to provide a thin, neat, edge construction for garments, particularly adapted to the ily openings of trousers, which facilitates the application of a slide fastener thereto.

Other objects and advantages of the inven- Ption will be apparent from the following specij cation. tf iwi' the right leg portion, as shown in Fig. 9, and

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown for purposes of illustration, one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice. In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the upper portion of a pair of trousers constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1:

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on line 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the left ily portion of the trousers as seen from the inside;

Fig. 5 shows the front face of the upper portion of the right leg pattern of a pair of trousers constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 6 is the pattern of the right fly showing the front face;

Fig. '7 is the pattern of the left ily showing the front face;

Fig. 8 is the pattern of the upper portion of the left leg; and

Fig. 9 shows an intermediate stage in the application of the slide fastener to the trousers.

The term front face in the above descriptions of the drawings means the surface of the cloth which faces away from the body of the wearer.

Referring to the drawings, the trousers include a right leg piece 10 and a left leg piece 11. The right ily or iiap is secured to the edge of the right leg, so as to form a prolongation of its surface, by a seam joining the curved edge 15 to the 65 curved edge 16, and the left fly or flap is sewed behind the left leg, as are shown in Fig. 1,-all in vthe customary manner.

In accordance with my invention, I depart from conventional structure of trousers by so cutting the leg portion 10 that it extends a substantial distance under the fly 13 when the fly opening is closed. 'Ihe left iiy 13 and left leg portion 11 overlap and completely conceal the seam joining the edges l5 and 16. Any suitable 75 slide fastener is used to close the fly opening. This consists of a pair of stringers 20 and 21, each including a tape carrying a row of interlocking elements along its edge. The tapes are joined together at one end by a bottom stop 22, vand the usual slider 23 is provided for interengaging and disengaging the rows of interlocking elements. The tape of Stringer 20 is placed in the seam between the edges 15 and 16, and projects over and in front of the right y. In placing the fastener in the trousers, the fastener is placed face down on the front surface of the right fly is laidface down on top of the fastener so that the edges 15, 16 coincide. A seam 90 24 is then run along the edge, joining the right y, fastener and right leg. The upper portions of the leg and fly edges are straight, while the lower portion is curved, as shown in Figs.5 and 6. When the seam is being `run around the curved portion, the goods of the ily and leg are stretched while the fastener tape remains unstretched in order to cause the fastener tape to be curved in its own plane and conform to the curvature of the leg and ily when the seam is 10 completed. The iy and fastener are then folded out, as shown in Fig. 1 and the resulting crotch surface conforms to the body of the wearer. The tape 20 is largely concealed by the leg portion 10. The tape of the stringer 21 is then sewed to the 10 inside face of the left ily, as shown in Fig. 4, the left fly having previously been sewed to the left leg portion. The Stringer 21 is also curved in its own plane to correspond tothe curvature y of the 1eft ny and this is accomplished by stretcn- 111 ing the outside edge of the tape, but not stretching the goods of the fly and leg as the tape is being sewed. The two leg portions are then joined together in the usual manner.

My invention includes a novel construction of the flap formed by the left fly and the left leg. It has previously been the practice to place the left fly, a layer of lining material and the left leg in a stack or pile and join the edges by a simple seam, then turn the lining and fiy back on the leg portion to conceal the seam. This results in an edge having six layers of fabric, which is objectionable not only because it forms an undesirable bead at the edge of the garment, but also because it is stiff and causes the fly to bulge and gape in the inevitable wrinkling of the front of the trousers which occurs in wear.

In accordance with my invention, I place the left ily 13 and the usual lining material 26 together, as shown in Fig. 2, and place the front leg portion with its edge 27 slightly overlapping the edges of the fly and lining and with its main surface disposed outside of the area of the fly and lining, as shown bythe dotted lines 28, in Fig. 2. The three layers of material are then joined together by over-edge stitching 29 which passes thru all three layers and passes over the raw edge 27 of the leg so as to give a finished appearance. This isconveniently accomplished by any suitable form of sewing machine known as a zig-zagger. The leg is next folded back over the fly and lining, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2. Therefore while the stitching 29 thus passes thru all of the layers of material it does not pass thru that part of the leg portion which is disposed opposite the surface of the fly and lining, thus the stitching is invisible from the front, and an edge having only four layers of material, instead of the usual six, is provided. This edge is thin and pliable, and permits the fly 13 always to lie firmly against the y 12. Experience shows that it lies snug and does not bulge or gape even when the entire fly structure bends or wrinkles.

As shown in Fig. 9, the tapes of the fastener project above the top edges of the leg and fiy portions. 'Ihe leg and fly portions are next joined to the usual waistband 30, as shown in Fig. 3, the ends of the tapes passing thru the seam joining the waistband to the leg and ily portions, and being concealed under or within the waistband. At any suitable point in the process of manufacture, the lining or facing 32 is secured to the right fly 12.

In order to prevent any unintentional opening of the slide fastener, means are provided for positively holding the two flies together. As shown in Fig. 1, this may be a button 34 and buttonhole 35. Fasteners of this type may be separated by pulling the ends of the stringers apart. When this is done the interlocking elements progressively separate and the slider automatically travels down the rows. However unless the force is applied at the extreme ends of the interlocked rows, no separation can occur and any reasonable amount of force applied between the ends of the rows cannot separate them. In order to prevent such separation the button and buttonhole are disposed between the ends of the rows, as shown in Fig. 1. Therefore any stress tending to separate the rows is taken up by the button, and the fastener cannot be opened except by deliberate operation of the slider.

In some forms of trouser construction, it is desirable to have the end of the waistband secured by a hook or by a button, suol; as shown at 36 in Fig. 1. When this is done. care should be taken to avoid stress being taken oil from the button 34 by the button 36. Otherwise corpulent bodies could apply a separating stress which would automatically open the fastener. To prevent this the button 36 is placed on the opposite side of the slide fastener from the button 34 and in such a position that the line 38 Joining the two buttons when the fly is closed, falls lnside of the end of the rows of interlocked elements.

If desired the lower ends of the tape, which are joined by the bottom stop 32, may be also secured together by a reinforcing tape 40. When the tapes are pulled apart with the fastener completely open, the slider is held firmly against the bottom stop, and the interlocking elements are held firmly in the slider. Since the interlocking element is clamped firmly about the tape, this provides a relatively sharp edge, which, being firmly held, is apt to tear the tape in two if the tape is pulled with even moderate force. To take the strain off this edge, the tape 40 is so fastened to the edges only of the tapes 20 and 21 that the slider passes completely under the reinforcing tape, and the fastener is slack, as shown in Fig. 2.

While I have shown and described in this application one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this embodiment is merely for the purposes of illustration and description and that various otherforms may be devised within the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In trousers having a fly opening, the combination of a leg portion, an outer fly, the inner surfaces of said outer fly and leg portion being placed opposite each other, and the margin of the leg portion being folded over the edge of the y and secured to the outside surface of said fly by stitching, said stitching passing over the edge of the leg portion and thru the fly, but not thru that portion of the leg disposed opposite the inner surface of the fly; a second leg portion having a curved edge, an inner fly secured by a seam along said curved edge, a waistband secured by a seam along the edges of said leg portions and flies; a slide fastener for closing the opening, the slide fastener including a pair of tapes secured together at one end and each carrying a row of interlocking elements thereon, and a slider for interengaging and disengaging the elements; the other ends of the tapes projecting beyond said rows, one of the tapes being curved in its own plane and secured in the seam between the second mentioned leg portion and the inner fly and projecting thru said last mentioned seam to position its row of interlocking elements on the outer side of the inner fly,v the other tape being curved in its own plane and secured to the inner side of the outer fly, the projecting ends of the tapes passing thru the seam, connecting the waistband and the other portions of the trousers and being disposed beneath said waistband; and means between the ends of and adjacent one end of the rows of interlocking elements for securing the opposite faces of the opening together against stress tending to separate said rows.

2. In trousers having a front fly opening, the combination of a leg portion having an cuter flap secured thereto, a second leg portion the edge of which has a straight upper portion and a curved lower portion,` an inner flap secured by a seam along said edge to the second mentioned leg portion to form a surface conforming to the body of the wearer, and a slide fastener for closing the opening, the slide fastener including a pair of tapes, each carrying a row of interlocking elements thereon and a slider for interengaging and disengaging the elements, one of the tapes being secured in the seam between the second mentioned leg portion and the inner ap, and projecting thru the seam to position its row of interlocking elements on the outer side and in front of the inner` flap, said tape being curved invits own plane to conform to the curvature of the lower part of said edge of the leg portion, and the other tape being curved in its own plane and secured to the inner side of the outer flap.

3. In trousers having a front fly opening, the combination of a pair of overlapping flaps, a slide fastener disposed between the flaps for closing the opening, the slide fastener including a pair of tapes each carrying a. row of interlocking elements and a slider for interengaging and disengaging the elements, one of the tapes being secured to each flap, and means for positively securing the flaps together against stress tending to separate said rows, said securing means being placed between the flaps to be concealed by the flaps and being located adjacent and wholly to one side of one end of said rows and between the ends of said rows.

4. In trousers having a y opening, the combination of a pair of overlapping flies, a slide fastener disposed between the ies for closing the opening, the slide fastener including a pair of tapes each carrying a row of interlocking elements and a slider for interengaging and disengaging the elements, one of the tapes being secured to each fly, and two sets oi' fastening devices for positively securing the ies together against stress tending to separate said rows, said fastening devices being located on opposite sides of said rows and so positioned that aline joining the two fastening devices crosses the rows adjacent one end thereof.

WILLIAM D. CRAIG. 

